Less than two months after the 1.0 release of Greedfall: The Dying World, the gaming community has been hit with the news that Spiders is closing. The French RPG studio's sudden shutdown is a direct consequence of the financial instability surrounding its parent company, Nacon.

Why Spiders is Closing: The Nacon Insolvency Crisis

The closure follows the significant financial troubles of Nacon, which filed for insolvency in February. This downturn was triggered when Nacon's majority shareholder, Bigben Interactive, was unable to meet its own financial obligations.

According to reports from the French site Origami, Nacon had hoped to sell off both Spiders and Nacon Tech to generate the cash necessary to resolve its insolvency. However, because no buyer could be found, liquidation became the only remaining option for the publisher. This instability has also impacted all four of Nacon's subsidiaries, which have also filed for insolvency.

Confirmation from the Studio

The news was officially confirmed by the studio today via their Discord server. Spiders community manager Elanor addressed the uncertainty surrounding the studio's future, providing a grim update to the fans.

"After a long period without clear answers, we have received confirmation that Spiders is being liquidated," Elanor wrote. "This means the company as a whole no longer exists."

Despite the news that Spiders is closing, there is some light for fans of their recent work. Elanor noted that the planned DLC for Greedfall: The Dying World will still be released by Nacon. Additionally, the Spiders Discord server will be handed over to the community to preserve the player base.

A Legacy of Ambitious RPGs

Founded in 2008, Spiders established itself as a specialist in "eurojank" titles—games known for their high ambition and occasional technical rough edges. The studio's portfolio includes several notable releases:

  • Of Orcs and Men
  • Mars: War Logs
  • The Technomancer
  • Greedfall

While the studio faced recent struggles, they also achieved significant critical milestones. Their title Steelrising was even selected by PC Gamer’s Shaun Prescott as his personal GOTY for 2022.

However, the studio's latest effort, Greedfall: The Dying World, was viewed by some as a stumble. While Spiders attempted to follow the early access success of Larian’s Baldur's Gate 3, critics like Prescott noted that the final product still felt "undercooked."

The end of Spiders highlights a volatile era for the gaming industry, shaped by post-Covid mismanagement and the rapid embrace of AI. While a studio like Spiders might have once been acquired by industry giants like Embracer or Focus Home, they will now simply pass into memory as another casualty of corporate financial failure.